The Casual Rise of Chappell Roan

By Keira De Vita

Since 2017, after the release of her first single “Good Hurt”, artist Chappell Roan slowly but surely can be caught strutting her way to the top. From Missouri, the curly haired singer relocated herself to Los Angeles at the young age of 17 to pursue music, which has proven to pay off.. Distinctively, Roan’s main theme as an artist reveals itself as the not so unlimited resource of money. With a passion to grow and a stylish aesthetic, the up-and-coming artist hand makes or thrifts all of her clothing used in music videos and visualizers, as well as costumes worn during performances. Proudly acknowledging this fact through social media and new interviews, Roan emphasizes the enjoyment of creating her own pieces; though stressful at times, she surrounds herself with friends who are eager to help. Any listener of Chappell Roan can attest to the work that the young artist has put into her career, constantly gaining the ability to watch her thrive.

The artist speaks a lot on the way she found herself and her sound; Discovered through quarantine, Roan embraces her queerness, amplifying it through her music. As for her sound, Chappell Roan describes her style as “dark pop with ballad undertones.” The 24-year old singer/songwriter says she feels more free writing music and is able to express herself more powerfully. This shines specifically through her hit songs “Pink Pony Club” and “Naked in Manhattan.” She writes with fearlessness, writing about relationships or situations with no restrictions. Other hit songs by this artist includes but not limited to “My Kink is Karma,” “Casual,” and “Femininomenom.”

Chappell Roan maintains a frequent internet appearance and interacts with fans, which comes with being a new artist. Roan uses sources like instagram (specifically the stories feature) where she can be found reaching out asking for input on costumes and more, connecting followers in the process that is her career. The rawness exemplified through social media makes it easier to connect with more famous or popular figures, bringing them back down to earth and humanizing them. Opening her heart to fans, Roan advocates for mental health as she shares glimpses of her story suffering with bipolar disorder. Roan’s followers are her friends, not just her fans; She does not forget to remind them of how grateful she is either. Frequently, the young singer posts on her story without makeup or goes live while sitting at a restaurant with her friend at 1 AM. Social media continues to be employed to heavily advertise new music. Time and again Chappell Roan tends to drop review clips of new music frequently to multiple social media platforms before a single or EP is released; fans stir in the comment sections as they craze about each new lyric released. This was most recently done with her new singles “Femininomenom” and “Casual” in mid to late 2022. Roan’s approach with connecting with fans proves time and again to have ultimately expanded her audience; she just never rests. As the new singer grows so do her opportunities. In May of 2022 at the San Fanfrasico show, Roan opened for Olivia Rodgrigo, during Rodgrigo’s Sour tour. The performance held by Roan absolutely blew the audience away. While performing songs that were already released, the artist decided to play a song that would later come out in August (“Femininomenom”), truly wondrous to experience. 

If there is one thing this singer knows how to do, besides dressing herself in dazzling clothing, it is performing. Beginning February 15 in Phoenix, Arizona, Chappel Roan lays the pathway of the start of her first tour: Naked in North America Tour. Costume concepts frequently are shared on her instagram (@chappellroan), ideas are constantly flowing. Themes for each performance night were well thought out according to different songs or themes throughout her discography and posted to her instagram. Another big part of the tour will play out to be the openers, some of which will be drag queens (3 for each city). With alternative genres for remixes of her music, songs are mixed up and performed with passion. The Naked in North America Tour will hopefully provide the perfect outlet to explode the artist into the music industry even more. Although listeners may be skeptical of a magnificent performance due to the limited amount of music she has released, Roan proved through opening for both Olivia Rodrigo (on the Sour tour) as well as Fletcher ( on the Girl of My Dreams tour) that she knows how to put on a dazzling show. 

As Chappell Roan casually rises to fame any listener will quickly become captivated by the artists style, music and ability to put on an interesting performance.